The Constitution of the United States states that you cannot be incarcerated for being poor and having no money. You can be incarcerated if you have a wilfull failure to pay child support and you were capable of paying some. Consider requesting a court-appointed attorney to assist you.

You should have gone to Family Court for modification of the court's order based on changed circumstances before the arrears accrued and you were faced with a jail sentence. You should talk to a Legal Aid lawyer in Family Court and ask him how to best handle the matter and avoid a jail term. The best way is to get a job and start to pay child support or show why you are unable to work based on a disability or mental problems, medical problems, or the fact that your benefits are not sufficient to provide any child support.

If enforcement action is taken, you will have to appear in court and advise the court of your situation. If there is some reason that you cannot work, you should bring documentation regarding that to court with you. To find you in contempt for failure to pay child support the court would have to find you had the ability to pay child support (this does not mean you have to have a job but must be able to work) and you declined to pay support. If you can show no ability to pay, it is unlikely you would find yourself in jail.

You fathered the child/children. You're responsible for their welfare irregardless of your current condition. YES . . . the state could take action against you. You'll have to try to explain all this to the court though.

Not paying anything whatsoever on your child support obligation is probably going to be viewed as a contempt of court and you can be jailed for up to 180 days for that. You do have defenses, no employment in this economy is the main one.

Under the circumstances you described it shouldn't be too difficult to get a modification of child support. People are jailed for failure to pay child support when the failure to pay is willful. If you simply couldn't afford it and were homeless the judge or magistrate will generally not find you in contempt. You will, however, still be responsible for paying the arrears.

The law assumes that you are capable of getting a minimum wage job and believes that if you fathered children, you should support them. However, judges also understand that homelessness is a problem and that jobs are limited. You may not be able to avoid going to jail for failure to pay for 4 years. During that time, did you move for a modification of your child support obligations because you were unemployed and homeless? That might make a difference. Good luck to you.

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